Homeward
by jamestheweasel
Summary: After fleeing berk Hiccup and Toothless encounter a group of Nightfurys claiming to be Toothless's family but unfortunately the crippled dragon doesn't remember any of them. Will he be able to protect Hiccup from his family or will they be separated by Toothless's haunting past? read and find out. (rated t for violence)ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

**So begins my next story. HUGE thanks to my editor, Britney. She's amazing. please review.**

 **Dragon language is bolded**

 _Thoughts are italicized_

The pair glided in silence over the ocean. The armored human's map had stopped a short while ago but he was eager to see what life off the edge of the map held for the two of them. It had been five years since the pair had ended the queen and in that time not a single one of Toothless's memories had returned from before he met the boy who changed his life. It was frustrating for the dragon, knowing that you had a past and most likely a family but not being able to remember either. Hiccup knew it haunted him but he also remembered the reaction Toothless would always give when he tried to bring it up. He had family, it normally sat on his back .

It has been years sense the two of them bonded enough to communicate through thought alone and even longer to teach Hiccup how to be fluent in the language of dragons. Neither Hiccup nor Toothless really understood how they could enter each other's mind but neither of them really cared .

The upgrades made to the flight equipment over the years had also been a welcomed change. The once abrasive leather saddle and tail fin had been replaced by a soft black saddle and a tail fin made out of dragon hide dyed black. Neither Toothless or Hiccup particularly liked using the dragon queens hide, yet it was the most effective tool for the job. Experimenting even after his exile, he knew that even though most of his equipment was untested, the weapons in his arsenal would work flawlessly. The two saddlebags on either side of the flying dragon were only connected to the saddle by two small knots. Hiccup and Toothless had learned the hard way how being slightly slower cost them. Hiccup found it funny how both of them couldn't work perfectly without the other and they both had prosthetics that allowed them to move. It had a kind of elegant symmetry.

It was noon when they first saw the islands over the horizon. Dark grey stone made up a extremely steep cliffside around most of the land they had found. A dense forest covered most of the exposed land on the islands with notable exception of the largest one, which appeared volcanic. Toothless could have sworn that he had once seen that same dark hue somewhere before but that couldn't possibly be the case. The sky above the island was overcast with slightly out of place dark clouds but neither of them thought anything of it at the time. Toothless felt off. He knew the rolling wooded hills and cave speckled rock face but he just couldn't place how he knew them. He tried keeping his unease to himself as they flew below the clouds and looked over the lush green island and the small dark stone mountain in its center. Hiccup interrupted his mental attempts to place the landmass.

"What do you think, Bud; dragons?"

" **I don't know. For some reason it feels familiar."**

They circled the island for a few more minutes. They both saw subtle movements beneath the heavy canopy but what had caused it still evaded them.

Wailing pierced the placid day of flight and screamed into both their ears. It was a wail they both knew well and one that shocked them enough to make them forget about dodging. From the storm clouds above the mysterious island, three sleek black dragons had dived toward them. Hiccup couldn't believe his eyes when he looked up. Through the narrow slits in the dragon steel helm he saw three nightfurys. In fact he was so entranced with the three black blurs that he didn't realize they were attacking until one of them had grabbed him by the shoulders and ripped him off Toothless. He was sure if the dragon scale armor wasn't there the sharp claws would have easily torn through his flesh, shattering bone.

"Toothless!" he yelled desperately .

" **Hiccup!"** Toothless screamed before plummeting along with the boy.

Toothless turned his back to the boy besides him, trying to allow the boy to clamber back on. He hoped in vain that his friend would be faster than the other dragons that now followed closely behind him. He saw the streamlined shape dive for them while the boy still fumbled with the saddle. He wasn't going to make it in time. The other dragon was upon him in a brief flash, he was prepared for a vicious battle that would leave both hiccup and him scarred for life. That was not he received. The howling wind battering him began to relent.

" **I am here to help brother!"** The other chirped as he grabbed onto Toothless's forelegs and pulled him out of the dive.

" **Save the human!"** Toothless hissed, struggling to escape the other dragon's claws.

 **Hiccups POV**

 _It was surprising what happens when falling_ , Hiccup mused later. _The world and all of your problems stop being relevant and all you care about is there and then._ Hiccup didn't think of the nightfurys that had just appeared from the clouds, nor the sudden disappearance of his friend with the three. No, the only thing Hiccup knew at that second was that he was falling and if he didn't slow down he would die. He spotted a small body of water and a clearing in the forest of the main island and without a second thought he took his chance.

The dragons on the ground who were waiting to mop up the remains of a foolish human who had plummeted to his death were met by with a very surprising sight. The human in black scaled armor pulled on the leather strips that hung from his waist. They watched in shock as the human pulled the fabric out from behind him and glided down to their clearing. Hiccup came in at a low angle when he hit the pond in the center of the clearing, skidding across the water like a stone and eventually ending on the rocky shore with nothing but a few scrapes and scratches to show for his crash landing. He took stock of the situation through his slightly dented helmet.

The equipment had held up nicely, he hadn't lost his bow, quiver , or sword and the tubes of dragon's fire around his belt and down his leg hadn't exploded and killed him like he had feared. He also questioned the health of the dragon-forged steel gauntlet around his left hand. The intricately carved shining metal device didn't appear to be damaged in the fall and the stacked triangular sections still clung to his forearm but he knew that one out of place cog could shatter the mechanism he worked so hard to perfect. The device didn't look nearly as good while the triangles were stacked and the inlaid carving of Toothless circling the center of the shield was not on display but nothing could really be done to fix it. Hiccup was checking over his equipment when he heard the soft growl from the dark forest.

He took that back, four growls.

Four Nightfurys appeared from the shadows surrounding him. He was taken aback when he noticed the soft red line that ran down one of their spines. It also was glaring at him was powerful crimson eyes.

 **"How do you want to kill the human?"** the red striped one asked the others, its eyes were slits that held a tidal wave of hatred.

"Who are you? What do you want? Where are you taking him?" Hiccup asked, trying not to act aggressive while keeping his temper in check. He had learned on Berk that fighting while angry was always a terrible idea. Without your ability to think you were essentially dead.

 **"You have enslaved the last dragon, boy,"** it hissed.

Hiccup sighed in defeat as the four closed in. The red who appeared to lead them came first, with the other three covering his retreat. It looked like he wasn't able to do it the easy way. "I do not have time for this "

He grabbed the bladeless hilt from his thigh and pulled out the red cartridge, placing it back on his belt. His eyes never left the approaching dragon as he grabbed another cylinder from the belt and slid it into the slot where the first had once been. He took up a defensive stance against the dragon that was toying with him before pressing the button on the hilt and surprising all four of them.

In front of the dragons was a human wearing the shed scales of a Nightfury and a black helmet which only betrayed his sorry green eyes. In his right hand he was clutching a sword unlike any they had seen before. The group had experience with fire and torches but normally Nightfurys did not had sustained blue flame, unlike what was spewing from the man's blade. His cocky stance and smile that the four could have felt beneath the mask shocked them into stopping to reassess their target and all of the mysterious items on his body.

"So do you want to talk now or are you still going to try to kill me?" the human taunted as his blue fire danced across the air.

" **You shall burn human!"** The red one screeched before launching herself at the boy the other three flanking on the sides.

"Let's dance then," he mumbled back.

They fought so much like Toothless, Hiccup thought it was uncanny. It was as if he had faced the four opponents for years in training, which in a way ,he had. The red one launched herself at his head, using her powerful hind legs to shoot her forward in a pounce that would have surely killed him if he allowed himself to be hit. Toothless learned years ago that the strategy left Hiccup too much time to react. A split second later, Hiccup was on the ground watching a black shape glide harmlessly over him. He spotted what he was looking for a planted his foot squarely in the pressure point under its jaw. She didn't have time to recognize what had happened before she was passed out on the beach behind him. Three Nightfury's quickly approaching.

" **How dare you! Get away from her!"**

Hiccup jumped back to his feet to greet the three smarter ones. They had surrounded and circled him.

"Oh, she's a female- thanks for letting me know," Hiccup quipped, hoping to hold off the three others until he could come up with a plan. Luckily his words were more of a distraction then he meant them to be. All three of them stopped circling and the look that in their now wide eyes was one of surprise.

" **You can understand us?!"**

"Yep," he replied as his body shot to the one which appeared the most astounded. He didn't even move when the blunt of Hiccup's blade connected with his skull and he fell like the female. The other two closed the gap in an instant and pounced at Hiccup. He managed to tumble out of the way just in time avoid the two pairs of razor sharp teeth. As he twirled out of the way he felt a set of claws rake through the expertly crafted armor and into the flesh of his back.

The nice thing about the mental bond that hiccup and Toothless shared was how it functioned with pain. They had learned earlier that one could share the burden of pain with another to help ease the pain or stay effective in combat.

" _Sorry, Bud",_

" _ **Hiccup! You're alive! Why are you sorr-'"**_

 _Hiccup could feel the pain leave his back._

" _ **I don't think I can get out. Just hold on a bit longer!"**_

" _Will do, Bud,"_

His attention was ripped back to the two attacking dragons in front of him as the sound of the sharp inhalation that proceeded dragon's fire filled forest air. A moment later two balls of hot plasma wailed through the air impacting their target. The man who had just taken out one of their fiercest warriors was surely dead in the huge cloud of smoke that appeared from where he was just a second ago.

" **Do you think it's dead?"**

" **It must be. No human could have survived that."**

A second later as the two dragons approached, an arrow pierced the smoke and found one of their chests. Upon impact it exploded in a blue ball of fire and left a similar patch of smoke as if the human had just fired like a dragon.

The one remaining dragon had a longer snout, slightly lighter scales than Toothless and large aquamarine eyes. It took a step back, afraid of the human who had just took out three of the island's best warrior's. He couldn't fail, he couldn't let the human kill them.

"Please tell me where my dragon is," hiccup begged from the quickly dispersing cloud.

" **Will you spare us than human?"** it hissed, backing up to defend his fallen friends.

The human sighed, " If I wanted to kill you I would have already and I wouldn't have a set of claw marks across my back... I will leave you alone if you tell me."

" **There is a cave on the coast. Head that way,"** the night fury crooned in defeat. tossing its head to its right. When he looked back up the human was gone, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him back to his best friend.

 **Toothless POV**

There was subtle differences between the three Nightfurys; things like a thinner snout, smaller ears, or different colored eyes but he wasn't really able to appreciate them through the all encompassing rage that filled his senses. They had carried him off to a very large cave and tossed him in a pit (most likely because of his ceaseless attempts to claw out the throat of the one who hurt Hiccup). The burning feeling that shot over his entire back didn't help him to sound reasonable to the rest of dragons that gazed at him from the lip of the pit.

" **Let me out of here you worms!"** He roared, digging his claws deeper into the stone to find any footing to escape. After a look which he could only describe as pity they turned their backs to him and started talking. Toothless didn't stop his mad attempts at escape but he still listened intently.

" **What do you think is wrong with him Caliban?"** The female with blue eyes asked the one whom claimed to be his brother (even though Toothless had never seen the dragon before).

" **I don't know Crow... Maybe the human is still controlling him."**

" **Shouldn't it be dead by now?"**

" **Maybe Bloodshot couldn't kill it."**

" **No- that's not possible. She is one of the best fighters on the island. She wouldn't have lost."**

The three turned their head as the loud warbling laugh escaped the pit and for the first time since they landed, silence came from Shadow. They peered cautiously over the precipice of the pit and locked eyes with the resting dragon in its center. His eyes were no longer slits but now conveyed a steady cockiness that Caliban had remembered from childhood.

" **Are you…"** Caliban stuttered, hoping beyond anything else that his brother had returned to his senses.

" **You have already lost... You underestimated him."** Toothless warbled from his position on the cave floor smiling despite the pain radiating from his back.

" **What did he do to you Shadow...** " His words were full of pity and sadness . Toothless was confused at first but eventually he realized he was talking about him. " **What could have he done?"**

" **I do not remember this place or its inhabitants. What I do remember is the human who has shown me incredible kindness and loyalty. The human who I would kill anyone for. The human who is my best friend. And Caliban…** "

Caliban pulled his jaw up to the rest of his face and tried to regain the confidence he held before. **Yes?**

" **The name is Toothless now."**

Rage.

" **You even prefer the name of a slave!"** He spat the words with utter contempt. He never expected to level that much hate at his brother. **"I know this isn't you, Shadow!... I'm going to go find that human! I am going to fix what he has done to you."**

" **You don't need to go and find the human,"** Toothless said with a wide grin, not a hint of a temper.

" **Why not?"** His question was answered for him when he turned around. His two companions were limp against the damp cave floor and a man leaned on the cave wall patiently listening in on the conversation. " **Human!",** he hissed at the armored figure. He put his body between the human and the pit. As the human began to talk, doubt filled his mind. The human, who smelled like his brother had escaped the trap and took out at least two Nightfurys without breaking a sweat.

"Really Toothless, giving me away again?"

" **I still don't see how you can be so quiet on that leg of yours."**

Hiccup shrugged, "It's like your tailfin, you get used to it eventually", He hadn't moved from the wall and hadn't even acknowledged the dragon in front of him. "So what do you want to do, Bud?"

" **What do you mean?"**

" **Stop this madness!"** Caliban screeched. He was ignored.

"It's your home. You make the decisions. What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Who should we talk to?"

" **I... I don't know... I don't even remember this place."**

"Well we should at least try to explain us so they don't come after us."

Toothless chuckled, " **They couldn't catch us if they tried."**

Hiccup just shook his head at the dragons arrogant words. The second dragon was still staring daggers at him but Hiccup didn't fear him. He got up from the wall he leaned on. Caliban and Toothless both noticing the streams of blood that ran down the stone. Hiccup took off his helmet and tossed it on the floor. He ran a hand through his messy hair and now took another look at the protective Nightfury. His body was longer and larger than Toothless's and his snout and ears were slightly shorter but the eyes were nearly the same. There was no real doubt that they were at least somewhat related.

" **Take another step forward and you will die human,"** He threatened.

Hiccup just kept his smile and shook his head. "Why do you hate me so much?"

" **You enslaved my brother!"**

"I'm assuming that you're talking about the saddle and the tailfin. Both of those were made in an emergency because his tailfin was taken in a battle and I didn't know how to let him operate the tail fin on his own. When I did figure out how to give him his own control back with a complex system of gears he didn't like it and even refused to use it." Hiccup shrugged. " He is my best friend and I do not like him being kept in a hole against his will."

It look on the dragon's face appeared to show that his speech was working but another second passed and Caliban roared in frustration. **"No. I shall not be tricked by a human!"** Then he lunged. His body surged with confidence as he bit into something, but for some reason digging his teeth into whatever it was produced no screams nor blood. A second later he was knocked out and Hiccup was peeling the dragon off the edge of his shield.

" **Nice work with the shield."**

"Yeah, I thought that was good. Glad it worked"

When deployed from his gauntlet, the Octagon of dragon steel that was intricately engraved with a detailed Nightfury circling the center point. A single spot of green was inlayed on the silver shield when hiccup had used an emerald for the dragon's eye. He folded the piece of metal back into its original form and made his way to the bottom of the pit. The trek was more painful then Hiccup would have liked to admit. The cuts along his back were starting cause serious problems for him.

 **"We need to get those wounds taken care of."**

"I'll be fine, Bud," he lied. Toothless felt the warm blood drip onto his back as hiccup clambered on and tried not to shiver. The last time his human was hurt this bad he woke with a missing foot. The rider was clinging desperately to consciousness as Toothless pounded his powerful wings and pulled them both out of the prison of stone. Toothless walked softly out of the cave, taking as much pain from the boy as he could bear. The light was blinding at first but after a few brief seconds their eyes adjusted.

"Well leaving is out of the question." hiccup desperately joked as he swept his eyes around the beach. At least 50 snarling dragons of many different sizes shapes and colors. His awe from the impressive sight was drowned out almost immediately when he locked eyes with the gargantuan shadow standing directly in front of him. It was easily larger than some of the cabins on Berk and looked more like a house with wings than any dragon he had ever seen before. Hiccup fought the fear that welled up inside him to gaze the dragon in its massive green eyes. Hiccup now took a better look around and realized that the largest the first and had the aura of a leader and a large scar running down the left side of his face to match . If they were to survive this was the one they needed to impress.

During this wordless exchange Toothless felt something nagging at the back of mind as if he was forgetting something important. What was it?

 **What is the meaning of this, my son.**

Oh yeah, that...


	2. Chapter 2

**sorry for the wait**

 **THE CUBS WON THE WORLD SERIES (shouts expletives in joy)**

 **thanks to my editor who is amazing**

 **"What is the meaning of this, my son?"** the gargantuan black dragon bellowed, silencing everything but the lapping of the waves against the beaches shore.

"Toothless? Is he..." he stuttered. Hiccup, only just conscious, let the word father hang in the air but Toothless knew exactly what he meant to say.

 **"I don't know..."** Toothless crooned back, trying to think a way out of the terrifying situation. After a few seconds of awkward staring, the titanic dragon began to twitch with impatience. **"Umm..."** Toothless stuttered. A few more waves impacted the Cliffside as Toothless internally panicked.

Hiccup and Toothless wouldn't remember what happened next other than the terrifying effect the alpha had on both of them. It was as if the dragon's menacing presence itself was enough to torment them. Surprisingly, this feeling of unease wasn't far from the truth.

 **"I am the alpha! You WILL obey me! You WILL tell me what is going on!"** He roared, stepping closer.

Toothless dropped to a knee almost instantly. " **Yes, my alpha,"** he chanted as the alien tugging in his mind forced his body to work. Hiccup barely stopped his battered body from getting off Toothless and doing the same, even with the gaping back wound. His words felt like an unstoppable wave of emotion and control, one of utter power. Somehow Hiccup knew that Toothless had felt like this before. Hiccup didn't ask many questions about the miraculous ability they had gained that allowed Hiccup to connect with Toothless, but that changed as the ghost of a memory slipped into his head. Toothless had done the same thing before, years ago.

He always described the experience of being mentally dominated by the queen as terrifying. Assuming the urges he felt now were similar, he agreed completely but he knew that couldn't stop him. Hiccup was tired of not being able to protect himself. It was the reason he spent weeks stitching together dragon scales and months pounding out steel for his weapons. It was the reason why he spent years practicing with his sword. It was the reason why he pushed himself off of the blood drenched saddle to stare down the giant.

"Let him go," Hiccup hissed. He ignored the immense pain that sitting had caused him; he had bigger problems to deal with now. For a few long seconds, Hiccup thought his attempts at intimidation would work, but that changed in a flash.

" **Ha!"** he roared, showing every one of his razor sharp teeth. " **And you think you can stop me?"** He asked sharply, stepping closer to examine the boy on his son's back.

"Let him go," he snarled louder, throwing his body off Toothless to stand on his own and face the dragon on his own two feet. It was at that point that Hiccup remembered that he had a set of nightfury claws rip through his back and he was unable to stand. He hit the ground with a thud as his legs gave out and his mind followed shortly behind, leaving only Toothless and his father conscious on the rocky shore.

" **Let's find out what he really thinks about his slave master,"** He warbled with a smile. Even though his eyes were screaming and internally he wanted to escape, Toothless stood solid as a statue. The green eyes that gazed into him flashed with a dull light and time for everyone else stopped and the world faded into blackness. He dived into his son's mind.

" **what is this place?"** he asked himself as he opened his eyes again. A dragon's mind was almost always a reflection of their home, no matter how much tampering, but this was not their island, nor his cave.

The sky was dark and starless in the small mossy cove. Even with his tough scales and inner fire ,the wind still chilled his bones. The wind tore through the grass and shook the trees behind him pushing him further away from its source. Pushing forward he trudged on, eventually spotting the black shape he was looking for curled up against the wall.

" **What could have done this?"**

The wind grew stronger as he approached, wrapping around the shape with an intensity that would have sent normal dragons flying. Then it stopped and he toppled forward. In the eye of the storm sat a lone nightfury curled up against the wall. A set of long claw marks crawled along his back and blood pooled around them.

" **Shadow?"**

No response came from the motionless dragon other than a very subtle twitch.

" **Shadow?"** he called again timidly.

"Toothless, your dad wants you." a weak, human voice replied from under the dragon.

" **Let go of him!"** He hissed at the human under his son before stepping closer.

" **No,"** his son whimpered back, clutching his wounded friend closer to his chest.

" **Why do you insist on sheltering that… Thing!?"**

Toothless pulled in closer to the wall, shielding Hiccup with his body and thought back. He did not mean to throw his father into the memory but he would not remember the experience later to regret it.

With a surge of the wind the alpha was ripped away from them and tossed back to the sky. When the wind calmed he was looking through his son's eyes. It was dusk over the ocean and the pack that was following him began to descend upon the village. Toothless swept low over the island and began the assault with a quick plasma bolt to one of the towers. Toothless could have sworn he had destroyed the same one last time but the humans rebuilt so fast he could not be sure.

He made another pass.

The alpha felt pride well up inside him as his son incinerated another viking building on the humans inconsequential island. Vast, cool and cloudless, the night sky greeted him as he turned to make another run. That's when he felt it. A brief second after a crack had cut the night air he felt something wrap around him. He was falling. Seeing the ground coming through the canopy, he closed his eyes. When he opened them it was later, much later.

Searing pain ran down his tail and up the rest of his body. He was shot down by the humans and would eventually starve, he knew that. Closing his eyes, he waited for the inevitable death that would await him, if he was lucky they would make it quick but he knew better than to assume that the gods were on his side.

He awoke to rustling in the distance and a branch snapping and closed his eyes again, trying to let sleep take the pain away. He told himself it was just a deer but he doubted that. When he felt the soft pressure on his torso, he warbled and twitched. It might have been mere moments before his death but somehow he still managed to find the shocked look in the small human's eyes comedic. Even though it was small for their kind, he knew the boy would easily end him, especially when he listened to the humans' mad ravings, " I'm going to kill you dragon. I'm gonna' cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a viking, I am a VIKING!" He waited for the blade to slay him... but it didn't. What was wrong? Was he planning to kill him slower? Force him to starve to death?... "I did this." The ropes were snapping. What was going on? Did he want to fight me standing up? No, he was much too weak. As soon as he could move, the downed nightfury pinned the boy against a nearby rock and screeched with all of his pent up fury and confusion.

" **Why?!"**

He knew the human couldn't understand but he didn't care. Everything was wrong. In the boy's eyes, there was no anger, no fury, no lust for battle that was supposed to exist in every human. The only thing he saw in those green pools were fear and sorrow. He saw himself. He loosened his grip around the frail neck and ran, he needed to think.

With that the world came crashing back to reality as his son passed out from pain. Toothless still felt the pain, even though Hiccup was unconscious and it became too much for him to bear.

The alpha just stood there, shocked beyond word, questioning the actions of every human he had ever encountered. Were all humans this way or did his son just encounter the one freak among them and why was he in his son's mind? He wouldn't find out by letting him die.

" **Should I kill the human, Sir?"** asked one of the nightfurys who had been beaten by Hiccup earlier.

" **No... Take them to the healer, make sure the human survives,"** he ordered, trying to keep his serious tone while dealing with what he just saw.

 **Later**

A light drizzle passed over the island wrapping the dragons that flew above the canopy in a cloak of rain. Three nightfurys flew closer to the cave carved into the sheer cliff of the island's mountain. Two of them carried the unconscious body of a dragon but the grey old dragon who watched their approach didn't care much about them. What the she did care about was what was being carried in the one remaining dragon's paws. There had not been a (welcome) human on the night's isle for hundreds of years and now it appeared that one was to be entrusted into her care. Why hadn't they just killed him already? If her constant pleading hadn't changed the stubborn bastard's mind what had the boy done differently? How had a hatchling impressed the alpha enough to let him come here for care? Moonseeker, the pale grey dragon who's aging blue eyes scanned the approaching dragon, was the best healer on the island and the eldest among the inhabitants. She remembered the humans from before, and she knew of their capacity for good or evil; even though she did not like them, she did not want to see them killed.

Now that they got closer she could make out the individual dragons. Caliban and Crow carefully flew the limp body of the island's lost heir down to the grassy moist patch of dirt outside the cave while Bloodshot unceremoniously dropped a human next to the healer before flying off without another word.

Her mind kicked into overtime.

 _Why is the human here? Who is he? Why is shadow here? Why does he not have a tailfin? Why is the human alive? Why do all of you look upset? What happened to both of them?_

Carefully containing the torrent of thoughts, she turned her curious gaze to the fleeing dragon.

 **"The human beat her and three others with little more than a scratch,"** Caliban explained pointing his claw at the unconscious, wounded human, who was face down in the dirt.

 **"What?!"**

Not only had the human changed the alpha's stance on humans, he bested the dragon who many considered the best fighter on the island. He would have some noticeable scars if he did survive but it was impressive nonetheless.

Caliban and Crow picked up the saddled heir and drug him carefully into the cave, answering the old dragon's questions as they went. **"What happened to shadow? Why is his tail missing? Why is he wearing a saddle?"**

 **"I am not quite sure... It appears that the human has enslaved him but the alpha appears to think otherwise,"** Calibian explained.

 **"And the alpha's word is law,"** they crooned in unison. The younger dragons did not detect the scorn laced in Moonseeker's words that had formed over the years. She carefully grabbed the human in her jaws and carried the limp and bleeding figure into her home. A gradual decline of smooth stone led the group into the fur covered floor where she treated her patients. Along the walls, small shelves were dug into the rockface, each one containing a wide variety of medical herbs and remedies. They dropped the bodies on the soft floor and began to peel the armor off the human.

 **"Has Shadow given testimony about this?"**

Crow shook her head, **"He said he didn't remember us and refused to talk until he got his human back."**

 **"So he doesn't remember anything?"** she echoed, shaking her head.

 **"He didn't even remember his name... he prefered the name given by this... human."** With the last painful word, Caliban tore off the dragon scale garment which protected the rest of the human's soft flesh. Moonseeker had grown tired of trying to convince her clan of the great good that humans could achieve when given the chance so she didn't snap back at the young dragon's baseless hatred. Crow carefully gathered up the human's equipment and his prosthetic leg then placed it in one of the empty holes in the wall while the other two got to work.

 **"Do you think Bloodshot's ok?"**

 **"I don't think anyone would react well after their mate suddenly returned with no memory and failing to kill who caused it."** Caliban guessed with a hiss of disgust.

 **"How do you know the human was responsible?"** she asked, stopping the work she was doing.

"I.. uhhh" he stuttered while Crow stuck to the shadows, eager to avoid the elders tirade that he knew was coming.

 **"You judged before you heard the full story and ignored every explanation given by a human who can't even understand us? Did you even listen to hear what Shadow thinks ?"**

 **"He... well... He could understand us,"** he stuttered with his head hung low in shame.

 **"He understood you?"**

Caliban nodded.

…

...

 **"umm... Moonseeker?"**

 **"Right, my apologies. I can take it from here. "**

 **"We shall be off then. May the shadows hide your wings,"** Crow said, finishing placing the human's things in the back of the cave.

 **"And may your words carry good tidings,"** moonseeker instinctively responded, finishing the traditional blessing. The two dragons left the warm cave, flying out into the misty day that was quickly coming to an end. With them gone she inspected both of them more closely. The human's wounds were obvious. Three long claw marks traced across his back from his left shoulder to his right hip, covering him and the floor in blood.

Shadow's wounds on the other hand were much more interesting, yet they were invisible to all but the most trained eye. Across his back three clusters of muscles were torn and throbbing, mirroring the human's wounds almost perfectly.

After a few hours of work, she finished placing the stitches in the human's back and got to work on Shadow. It only a took a few minutes to rub the ointment on his back but it gave her time to think.

After both patients were treated, she lit a small fire in the corner of the room and looked through the items taken off her patients. Both prosthetics had the same excellent quality of craftsmanship that allowed them to fulfil their purposes excellently. She easily recognized the explosive arrows and sword from the brief description she had been given of the encounter but what caught her attention the most was the shield and its engraving. She was entranced by the bright image of the dragon-metal nightfury circling the shield's center. Staring at the emerald that matched perfectly with Shadow's eyes, she came to a conclusion. She would give the mysterious duo the benefit of the doubt. No slave master would put so much work into making their slave look as this boy had. The dragon on the shield didn't look fierce or intimidating as one would expect, he was happy. The dilated green eyes described the same joy that every dragon felt when flying and no slave would ever show that to his master, not even once.

The night came and the fire became the only sustained light in miles. As the night passed, flashes of blue lit up the dark sky when the mostly nocturnal nightfurys became more active. There was a reason why they were called the offspring of lightning and death after all. To an untrained ear they did sound like rolling thunder.

A particularly close explosion rocked the cave, stirring both of them. As they woke upon the warm ground, both dragon and rider twitched in the same ways. Their front paws were the first thing to move, then their heads, and then after a second both sets of brilliant green eyes shot open in panic. They didn't bother to look around the room and take account of the endless supply of healing equipment, the furs that padded the ground, nor the white dragon hiding in the back of the room. Within a fraction of a second they locked eyes and immediately jumped towards each other. It was only at this point that Hiccup's mind started taking in the details of his situation, the most important being that he was currently naked and missing a foot. To Moonseeker's confusion, the human began the chuckle even before he was caught.

"Well that's just great," the human said sarcastically as the other dragon lowered the human back to the ground.

" **We've woken in worse positions,"** Toothless pointed out, before locking eyes with the old grey dragon watching them from the back of the room and instinctually surrounding Hiccup with his tail.

"At least you have scales, Toothless," Hiccup grumbled before he followed Toothless's eyes to the dark corner that she was hiding in.

Even though it was not intentional, every one of the pairs movements from then on were in sync, down to the smallest detail. The human swung his naked body over the dragon's shoulders and grabbed onto shadow's neck while shadow brought his head up to protect him.

" **Where is my saddle?"** He hissed. The grey dragon did not respond for a few seconds as she took in the sight before her. Even without the saddle or their prosthetics they were still a fearsome sight.

" **Fear not Toothless, all of your and the human's things are safe."** She gracefully stepped out of the shadows to let the fire's light completely illuminate her. " **I am Moonseeker, one of this clan's elders and it's only healer."**

The pair relaxed and Hiccup readjusted himself trying not to dig his groin or legs any farther into Toothless's sharp spines. However painful riding without a saddle while naked was, he didn't get off his friend.

"Why are we here? Why are we alive? " Hiccup asked.

" **Such questions have plagued all intelligent life since the beginning of time, but I shall not bore you with my theories, for it is my belief that you have asked the wrong question. I do not know why the alpha spared your lives, only that I have been tasked with treating you."**

Toothless and Hiccup looked between the old drake and each other before Hiccup huffed and tore himself off of his friend. He let loose a low curse and all three cringed as Toothless's scales ripped into his leg when Hiccup dismounted.

"Well that's just great," he mocked while the shallow scratch sent blood down his leg.

" **I thought you learned to be careful with my scales last time you cut yourself open."**

Hiccup shrugged, "Glutton for punishment, I guess." Hiccup collapsed against one of his friend's legs, unable to stand without his prosthetic. He turned to the other dragon in the room who was watching the events unfold with supreme interest.

"Umm.. I'll get bandages," she stammered before bolting to the far wall.

' _Well this is wierd…'_

' _**You are probably the first human she has ever seen... Plus you're naked and bleeding all over her floor.'**_

Hiccup scoffed, _'They were the ones that took my clothes, don't look at me.'_

' _ **Speaking of which…'**_ Toothless thought, turning back to the dragon that was waddling back to them, clutching a bundle of bandages in her front paws.

" **Would you like me to do it?"** she crooned softly. Hiccup shook his head and crawled over to the pile. The closer he got to the old woman the more uneasy Toothless felt.

"Oh calm down you big baby," Hiccup shot. "I can feel you panicking."

' _ **I still don't think I will ever get used to having you in my head…'**_

' _I already have.'_

" **Umm…"** Moonseeker stuttered. From her view, the two had stopped dead in their tracks just to stare at each other without saying a thing. It seemed so familiar to her for some reason.

" Oh, right. Sorry."

" **You both should get some rest. You still need it."**

" **She makes a good point,"** Toothless added.

Hiccup let a grin sweep over his face, " Two overprotective dragons deciding my every move. How am i going to cope?"

" **You know you love it,"** Toothless shot back, opening his Wings so Hiccup could take refuge against his warm hide.

"You know me too well," Hiccup agreed, allowing himself to be wrapped in the black leathery canvas. Toothless didn't sleep easy. He was afraid how the grey dragon watched them from the corner of the room but eventually Hiccup dragged him into unconsciousness.

As soon as she was sure the mysterious and, dare she say it, cute pair were asleep she skulked out of the cave and flew off to join the others.

The pale dragon glided through the crowded sky in her travel to the alpha's mountain. The glittering sky over the clouded island was spotted of shadows and whispers of nightfurys in the dark. For her, the sight was beautiful, a physical reminder of what she had accomplished over her long life. Each familiar shape normally holding at least one story about a wound cared for or a sickness healed.

Even for a Nightfury the mountain's crater was dark. With her growing age and the poor quality of her eyesight she could only make out the colors of the wide eyes that filled the crater. The alpha, standing in the middle, began the meeting with the topic everyone was really there for.

" **Moonseeker,"** She cringed as he boomed her name. **I seek your opinion on the situation concerning my son.** She started to notice the differences between him and his son. For one, his eyes were older, more judgmental, not filled with the compassion that she had observed earlier that night.

She knew it was coming. She had been the one who had spent the most time with them by far but the mob of gazes that turned her way was still intimidating. Out of the darkness she noticed the piercing glare of Bloodshot the most. Everyone knew she had been hurt the worst by Shadow's disappearance, and seeing the arrogant youth come back completely different and in the hands of a human didn't make her feel any better. Sighing, she resigned herself to the ridicule that would come after she had made her point made. " **I believe the human to hold no ill will towards us."** She didn't let the expected growls that came from the wave of eyes phase her.

The alpha's response was low, calm, and collected, but everyone could feel the growing rage that lingered just beneath the surface. " **Explain why you believe this, Moonseeker."**

" **The human could have easily killed many of us, but he didn't."**

" **Is that all?"** he asked, skeptical and annoyed.

" **I have also noticed how he treats your son."**

" **Explain."** That one meek word held back a tsunami of rage and she knew it.

She stood to her full height and looked into the eyes of the arrogant youngling that she had watched grow into his position as alpha. **"Shadows guide me,"** she prayed under her breath before she spoke her reply.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah, I'm sorry that this is late and i'm not going to give any excuses but know this. I am not giving up.**

 **I am the master of my fate,**

 **I am the captian of my soul.**

It was the arena that haunted him the most out of all of his time on Berk. The bruises and beatings that snotlout had given him, the disappointment to that came with being weak, the laughter that came from his father when he first told him he didn't want to be in dragon training, all of it paled in comparison to what happened in that day.

The gates opened once again and without his mind telling his body to do so he walked in and looked at the stands of people waiting for him. Even now, their stares weighed heavy on their shoulders. After a few seconds of silence, the gate of the battle scarred pit slammed shut behind him. He turned in shock for the hundredth time and looked through to meet Astrid's gaze of hate that she shot through the iron. He often wondered what it would have been like if she had ever found them in that cove but he knew that his crush was nothing more than overactive hormones and teenage idealism.

A few eternities later and the gate to the dragon's den opened , he hadn't even taken the shield and the dagger in this reality. Hiccup glanced back up at the crowd again as the dragon came rushing to him, afraid more of their judgement than the dragon's fire. When he heard the wave of screams wash over him he turned back to the dragon that had moved within inches of him.

"I'm not like them..."

 _"It's working!"_ hiccups brain screamed as his hand came closer and closer to the now calm horned dragon. A second before his hand touched the dragon's snout his memories came flooding back.

"Stop the fight!" his father yelled.

Knowing what he knew know, he would have easily been able to put the panicking dragon down but the memory played out without change. The characteristic wail pierced the air and a a flash, a single blast of fire burned through the area's bars . Hiccup mind did not recall how Toothless had gotten there or when he had escaped the cove but in the blink of an eye toothless had dived passed everything in his way to stand in front of him. Another blast clouded the arena in smoke and put the fighting dragon down, neither of them would ever know if it would survive or not.

"Nightfury!" someone shouted, seconds after the Nightmare was out . Hiccup resisted the urge to respond with something witty like, "No, it's a puppy." and instead gave into his panic and jumped into the saddle.

"Hiccup! Get out of there!" his father shouted while he and the rest of the crowd rushed to the gate, weapons raised.

"Kill it!"

"Get its head!"

Hiccup produced a sound somewhere between a sob a giggle. Out of the rioting crowd now flowing into the arena, only two voices called for him, his father and gobber.

He tried yelling into the crowd but the roars of the vikings stop any of his frantic pleading from escaping the kill ring. The gate opened. Instinct took over his legs when they came rushing into the smoke and toothless followed their lead. Only one person got a good look at them before they disappeared through the same hole they entered from.

"Hiccup?" she squeaked, staring at the dragon rider.  
"They aren't monsters, Astrid," was all he could force out through the wall of tears.

Toothless hated when this happened. Hiccup lashed out in his sleep again, kicking him in the side. It wasn't painful without the heavy boots or the prosthetic on but it did make the dragon sigh. It was unfair how the world burdened him with so many skeletons at such a young age. While under the queen's control, he was always an outcast but that was different. All of her servants were there for a mission. No one had time to worry about friends or loved ones; They only worried about getting enough food to survive the queen. Though it was no place for a youngling, Toothless would have rather hiccup live in terror of that monster than his own people who were so much worse. When they first learned how to send each other memories, Hiccup had to beg on his hands and knees to stop him from flying back to the village and laying the revolting place waste. Hiccup often compensated for his lack of strength compared to him but it was nothing compared to how hard it was to even get out of bed some days for his human. He had endured the ruthless abuse of his peers for years, only escaping to his work in the forge when he was lucky. When he wasn't, the girl that he had foolishly fallen in love with and his own cousin took turns making his life hell. Worst of all, his own father would not believe the stories of abuse, dismissing the bruises and occasional scars for simple childhood competition. Toothless had been making a list for quite some time of the people he would personally thank for hiccups treatment, starting with that vile girl, Astrid.

Toothless let his focus drift away from the hatred he felt for the people of Berk and back to the boy in front of him. That boy was his life. There was no way he could deny that now and he doubted he would ever want to. After minutes staring at the boy between his talons, light started to trickle in from outside the warm cave.

" **Hiccup, wake up,"** he warbled softly, holding the shaking boy with his soft paws. He didn't. **Hiccup,** he called, shaking him slightly. His fear filled eyes shot open and his arms reached out to strike before stopping just before they made contact. He brought the shocked boy closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around the youth as the sobbing started. They didn't need words, they both had been here enough times to know what had happened and both still didn't know how to cope. The sobbing filled the cave for a few minutes as toothless rocked his human back and forth. _**"**_ _ **I'm here hiccup... I'm here... They can't hurt you anymore... no one can hurt us anymore..."**_ He tried to hide it but a few tears of his own were crawling over toothless's scales.

Hiccup took a deep breath and wiped the tears streaming down his face, "Thanks bud... I know I can rely on you..." Hiccup's mind started to process the world around him and the distant chirping of the birds that signaled a new day. Growing on the walls, moss covered most of the ceiling but the fire that someone had lit in the corner of the room had dried out their surroundings quite nicely. The floor was still littered with tanned animal hides of different shapes and sizes which Hiccup found interesting given normal dragons distaste for human hunting practices. His body felt bad in a completely different way on this specific morning, with the totally empty stomach roaring loudly to be fed.

"Let's go get some food, Bud."

Hiccup felt the soft snickering rise from the chest he was pressed aginst.

"What's so funny," he demanded.

" **I don't have my saddle, your naked and missing a still missing a foot,"** Toothless replied matter of factly.

Hiccup looked down at himself when toothless unfolded his wings to let him get a look. "Damn," he muttered, earning another chuckle from his dragon. Toothless got up and stretched. Hiccup was still amused at how dragons moved and acted like cats most of the time.

" **Stay here, I'm going to go get our stuff back."**

"If you can't get our weapons or your fin at least come back with my foot and my change of clothes. Its cold here without you. "

" **You could come with,"** he offered.

"Stumble naked through a forest that I don't know while an island worth of dragons get their full view of a naked human. No thanks"

Before he turned to leave his eyes caught the soft red that stained the furs under both of them. **"Hiccup, turn over."**

He obliged. "How bad is it?"

Toothless's jaw fell wide open upon first admiring the three closed cuts along his back but it stayed open when he looked closely at how the mysterious dragon from last night had closed them.. **"How….,"** he stuttered blinking a few times.

"Toothless, spit it out" hiccup snapped.

He cleared his throat nervously, **"I don't know."**

"Toothless," he growled.

" **Remember when you fixed my wing when I tore it a few months ago?"**

"Are you telling me that she was able to stitch up my back?"

" **I think so but that can't be right. I've never seen any dragon that good with their paws."**

Hiccup turned back over and painfully up to face his friend. " We can ask her about my back later but for now can you please go get my clothes."

Toothless leaned in and nuzzled his human along the side of his face crooning softly in his ear, **" Be more careful next time. I couldn't bear to lose you."**

Hiccup reached up to his face and pulled it away " I promise I'm not going anywhere without you bud."

Keeping that in mind, he walked softly out of the cave. The harsh sunlight that sliced through the fog blinded him for a split second but his vision cleared quickly revealing the surroundings. If he wasn't internally panicking about their lack of equipment he would have appreciated the misty forest that surrounded the cave. It looked so much like Berk's he could hardly tell the difference. Their thick, dark branches looked thick enough to support his weight yet far enough away from each other to make gliding through the canopy possible, the trait he had missed the most when exploring outside the archipelago.

" **Greetings brother…"** Caliban warbled softly, perched on a ledge above him. Toothless couldn't stop himself from twitching slightly.

" _ **I'm the only one allowed to be that quiet"**_ he whined internally, unintentionally making hiccup giggle from the cave behind him.

The larger black dragon floated down from his perch and landed on the mossy ground in front of the cave that was dug into the mountain.

" **Shadow?"**

" **Oh, yes. Sorry,"** Toothless quickly said, shaking himself out most of his frustrations. However, hiccup was still giggling.

" **Is something wrong with the human?"** Caliban asked. Toothless didn't expect genuine appearance of concern in his voice.

" **No, why do you ask?"**

" **Its making a noise, I thought it might have been injured."**

Toothless sighed, trying not to snap at the dragon claiming to be his brot er. A few short years previously he had made the same mistakes he was currently. **"No, he is just laughing at me."** He interrupted his brother before he could say anything that might have frustrated him more. **"Do you know where our equipment went?"**

" **Ah, yes, that… During the night Moonseeker took it to father. If you want I can ask for it back."**

" **Do that. I'll be waiting in the cave,"** Toothless ordered. He tried to make the words come out without the distaste for him that had grown over the previous day but it was still noticeable.

Caliban turned to leave before his eyes caught on his tail. " **How did it happen?"** he asked meekly. To his surprise his brother smiled as if reliving a happy memory from a time long ago, not the life altering catastrophe that many on the island had assumed.

" **It was the only way to save me."**

There was more to the story but Caliban didn't want to go digging any farther. Shadow was in good spirits this morning and he didn't want to go ruining that so soon. **"Don't worry about it,"** He consoled. " **Moonseeker has mended worse. She might still be able to fix that too. "**

Toothless chuckled. despite the boy in his head prodding to ask questions about how that was possible; he just responded with the answer he gave hiccup months prior when he had given his flight back with a new fin. " **What makes you think I want it back?"**

" **What?!"** He roared, unable believe what he was hearing.

" **Get our stuff, then we'll talk."** He said, turning to leave so his brother wouldn't get in another word. Luckily, caliban was too aghast to bark out a response.

Hiccup had wrapped himself in one of the furs that padded the floor by the time he got back. Hiccup found himself laying against his friends warm, scaly, torso once again.

"So what do you think bud?"

" **What about?"**

"Your home, your family, other nightfurys, all of this," he waved his hand towards the front side of the cave. "What is your opinion?"

" **I don't like them. They tried to hurt you."**

Hiccup shook his head and chuckled, "Bud, you and I both know that first impressions aren't our best skill. "

" **I know,"** toothless huffed.

"Just give them a chance, please? I don't want you to be an outcast too." Toothless wrapped his body around the human.

" **I'm worried about you, Hiccup... I don't want them to hurt you…"**

Hiccup jammed his elbow into his friend's side. " I'm not some hatchling you have to take care of."

" **Then stop acting like it,"** toothless shot back.

" that's rich coming from you."

" **What's that supposed to mean?! "**

Hiccup curled up closer to the warm black dragon, chuckling. "It's gonna' be fine bud, don't worry."

Letting out a sigh, Toothless relaxed and curled his wings around the small naked boy. " **I love you hiccup."**

"Me too bud. Me too."

Without even meaning to they both drifted back to sleep.

About an hour had passed before the beating of familiar wings stirred up the first layer of dirt outside the cave. The did not stir when he entered.

" **Shadow?"** Caliban called from across the mossy cave. His sleeping brother gave no response. " **Shadow, I have the stuff…"** He slowly approached the sleeping dragon, leaving the requested items at the cave's mouth. His claws made little sound on furred floor as he entered. " **Brother?"** He asked again but in his frustration the dragon didn't twitch. In truth both Toothless and the hidden Hiccup were already awake but they waited for something else. Caliban sighed before choking out the word he guessed the sleeping dragon would react to, " **Toothless?"**. Stirring, Toothless slowly opened his eyes and pretended to yawn.

" **Thank you Caliban, Hiccup and I will be out shortly."**

" **Where is that human anyway?"**

"I'm right here," came a tired response from under toothless's wings. Suddenly Caliban turned to leave, trying to stop himself from saying anything about the human's closeness. No dragon was that close to a human, it just didn't seem right to him.

After he left, Hiccup stumbled over to the pile of stuff and started to go through the unkempt heap of leather and dragon scales.

The saddle bags were still full of the set of emergency clothes he kept to avoid catching hypothermia again and the many journals full of ideas but as he dug in further he started to smile. Flush with the side of his extra boots lay a tiny well hidden knife that they had missed. What wasn't so good was the lack of any of his other weapons or his shield and the shredded state of his armor. It would take hours to patch the large claw marks back up but he carried the materials to do so. He let out a deep sigh while got dressed.

" **Its that bad?"** Toothless warbled, looking over the armor and tools he still didn't really understand.

"No, not really but I was hoping to flying this morning and I don't really feel like doing it without the wing suit," he said with a sigh. He grabbed the needle and thread from the very bottom of the leather satchel and started to patch the holes. He could have sworn that it had not been this bad when he collapsed after their encounter with the alpha.

" **Why can't you just wear the back up?"**

"If it was just us, sure, but it's not. Even if it's unlikely I don't want to risk getting pulled off again," he said with a sigh.

" **I won't let that happen again,"** he growled back.

" I promised you that I wouldn't let you get captured again but look where that got us."

" **I…"** _ **'I hate when your right,'**_ the thought slipped out without his knowledge .

"Look on the bright side bud. When I get this done we can show off to your relatives. That or grab a front row seat to you losing for the first time. "

" **I won't loose,"** he chirped arrogantly.

"Give me an hour, then you can prove it."

" **What do you want me to do?"**

Hiccup shrugged, " You can go and talk to your family if you like... Try to figure out more about your past."

" **but I don't want to leave you alone."**

Hiccup dropped the needle and looked at his friend in annoyance. "How many times have i told you that i don't need you constantly watching over me."

" **Not enough times to make me listen,"**

Hiccup shook his head and got back to it, trying to ignore the dragon eagerly watching him but after awhile he started to smile. The boredom emanating from toothless after just a few minutes was tangible. Hiccup tried not to look smug as a very bored toothless wordlessly got up and walked out of the cave. his options toothless left. He may not have liked to face his people but the dim silence of the cave was unbearable. Looking out to the verdant forest for the time, he easily traced the game trails weaving back and forth beneath the trees. A tune that hiccup often played made with his lips came to mind and putting his fears behind him for a moment Toothless let his mind take over, leaping his way through the trees.

' _ **Maybe I have lived here before'**_ he thought, ducking out of the way of a tree he didn't look at.

The forest fell back behind the galloping dragon as the soft incline of the forest floor dropped off in front of him. Extending his wings to stop his momentum, toothless found himself looking over the chaotic sea . The Berk-like cold blue spray that touching the bottom of his feet and the sea stacks that littered the back of the island reminded him of home. Smiling, he remembered the chaotic first flight the two had taken through the similar stone pillars. By the end of their stay he had memorized every conceivable route through that labyrinth, or made his own when they were in really in trouble. The serene silence was cut off by the repetitive flapping of unfamiliar wings wings. The delicate good mood that Hiccup had built came crashing down in an instant

' _ **don't panic, I'm here.'**_

Toothless turned to face the new arrival, trying to keep a hold of the small voice at the back of his mind.

" **Shadow!"** she barked, landing heavily besides him with longing eyes. " **Your home."** she breathed in relief as she nuzzled the side of the now frozen dragon. He racked his brain, scanning his memory for any trace of the alluring dragon. She backed away slowly letting him get a better look a the deep red pools centered in the dark face. He screamed at himself internally. The black serpent that he found himself gawking over knew him very, very well so why couldn't he remember anything.

He turned away from the familiar ruby night fury, " **I'm sorry... I really am."** Her sharp face sunk with despair. " **I don't remember you... I'm sorry".**

He could see the tears welling up in the side of her normally stoic eyes. " **Oh... ok then,"** she said meekly , flying off quickly in order to avoid any more heartbreak from the dragon she used to know .

' _ **How do I know what her eyes normally look like?'**_

She was gone and toothless was alone again as he stared out at the ocean. His entire body was shaking with how wrong he felt and it wasn't just the lack of his saddle or tail. It wasn't like the phantom pains that often plagued both him and his rider when it grew cold. He could still feel his tail but he knew that was just a trick played by his mind. This was not. Even in death, the queen haunted him giving him that the fog that laid over his mind like the scales on his hide. He looked down at his front paw looming dangerously over the crashing waters below, knowing one step was all it would take.

He stepped back.

Hiccup was looming over his mind. He didn't say anything but his message was clear as the blue sky above him. He was not alone. He would never be. A crack made its way past the sound of the crashing ocean and Toothless tuned his senses to the tree line. He didn't most of them but he could tell that there was a group of dragons observing him. He chuckled to himself

' _ **Amatures'**_

' _Do you want to show them how it's really done?'_

' _ **I take it that the suit is done?"'**_

' _yep.'_

' _ **On my way now'**_

His green eyes glanced over the forest behind him and made out the shapes clinging to the shadows, twelve in total, before he started to gallop back. He couldn't beat them back without his tail but he didn't make it easy. The pounding of his paws flowed through the air, drawing more dragons to join the group .

He stopped his sprint when as came closer to the cave. The fully dressed hiccup was crouched at the exit of their cave prodding every piece of their flight gear ensuring that every seam was in its correct place. He was glad the saddle had survived their previous ordeal without damage. Among the many tools and weapons he had made after meeting toothless, the black saddle brought him by far the most pride. The black leather flowed seamlessly from the harness onto toothless's scales. Anyone who wasn't looking for it wouldn't even be able to tell that it wasn't part of him. From his position, hiccup was not able to see the dragon coming.

Caliban as well as the rest of the dragons spying on them from the depths of the forest froze in an instant when toothless left his playful demeanor and dropped into a low stance. Many, including the heartbroken bloodshot, thought for a brief moment that he had finally decided to rid himself of the human that had enslaved him. None of them tried to stop him when he pounced. Black scales flew through the air and Hiccup, once again, found himself face up facing his giggling friend. He let out a bloodcurdling scream but struggling against the heavy dragon did nothing. The dragons behind Toothless shifted, trying to get a better line of sight that was coming. No one was able to see the human under the imposing black dragon but the silence that followed shortly after the human's scream told them all when the deed was done.

A sputtering noise came from under the now laughing dragon as toothless rolled over, exposing the human to the crowd of looming dragons.

Jumping to his feet the dripping human glared menacingly at the dragon who was now on his back in laughter. " You know that doesn't wash out!" he accused, flicking some of the saliva in his direction.

" **Haven't you ever thought that's the point?"** Toothless gloated, undeterred.

Hiccup unclenched his fists, shook his head, and let out a deep breath " Just stand here you useless reptile and let me get your saddle on you," hiccup sneered, still dripping.

Toothless obliged and they exchanged some more jokes before either of them noticed the stunned caliban standing in front of the stunned crowd. Hiccup and toothless looked at each other and back to the larger dragon. " **What?"**

" **You.. you marked…"** he couldn't stop himself from stuttering.

"Think you might have broken some kind of taboo bud," hiccup guessed.

Toothless shrugged it off , " **are we going flying or not?"**

Hiccup didn't need to respond but instead decided to leave the crowd awed with how fast they could get off the ground.The forest fell behind them as the two partners shot off into the sky. The land that had imprisoned them fell back behind them as they roared through the air. Furiously, they climbed higher and higher until the island was just a speck upon the blue disk below them. It did not take them long before they found themselves surrounded by the sky and nothing else. Toothless relaxed and started to glide.

"What do you want to do bud. About all of this."

" **I don't know... We could leave** **…"** He offered halfheartedly

Hiccup looked down to the island and the black specks above it.

"I don't think that's a good idea... We could use a home for awhile. That and I don't want you to be an exile too. "

" **I don't care if I'm an exile.** **"**

"That's what I said too when we left berk."

Toothless was quiet for a moment, thinking back on the sleepless nights his hatchling spent with his nightmares.

" **Fine... We will stay for now.** **"**

Hiccup's tone lightened and he changed topics, "So what did you say about sea sacks?"

Toothless chuckled and he felt the weight of his rider drop off of his back and a shadow fall infront of his snout.

' _**You know I don't have to catch you when you surprise me like that.'**_

" _But you will."_ Toothless could taste the smug self importance that he was oozing but he knew he was right.

Toothless sighed and rolled over the to catch the falling human. They plummeted together and the wind howled past them. The warm black shape fell next to hiccup and both of them tumbled to the churning sea below. The large stone spires approached quickly and the two fell into a trance. Toothless rolled over allowing hiccup to lock himself back into the saddle. The wall of spires approached them and they dove in head first into the field of stone.

' _ **vector angle 2**_ _ **'**_

They banked through a hole scarcely larger than themselves.

' _Position 4_ _'_

They barrel rolled past another tower, growing faster as they did so.

' _ **bank left**_ _ **'**_

They did so, both of them smiling when they noticed a fearful dragon clinging desperately to the pillar they passed within inches of. They kept at it.

 _"position 5"_

' _ **Bank 3**_ _ **'**_ __

' _Vector angle 2_ _'_

They moved as if the pillars of deadly rock were just flecks of dust floating on the gail.

' _ **position 4**_ _ **'**_ __

With a roar from both of them, they exited the field with hiccup only slightly charred. Only now did they care to notice the horde of dragons which gawked at them from the coast line.

"you said you wanted to show off," Hiccup taunted.

" **Yeah but i didn't think it would actually work** **…"**

"Do I hear humility, wow, that's new?" hiccup joked. A few seconds later toothless banked around to a sea stack and landed on the top of it.. Without stopping for the now laughing Hiccup stood up on his hind legs , Hiccup still on his back, and gave a deep bow like hiccup had taught him to the gawking crowd. Most of them didn't get it.

 **The alpha's nest the night earlier**

" **You are all dismissed... except you Moonseeker."**

She cringed as the intimidating shadow called her name. With that, the wave of dragons flapped their wings and flew to flee the tirade they knew was coming. After the cyclone that the dragons had caused died down she sighed and walked up closer to the center of the crater.

" **Moonseeker…"** he said in a voice that she could have mistaken for sorrow.

" **...Yes?"**

" **I need your help…"**

She blinked a few times and tried not to smile. " **What!?"**

It was his turn to sigh, " **You heard right. I need your advice on what to do with my son…"**

" **Oh…"** She paused for a second recalling her interaction with the human. He wondered how desperate the stuck up fool needed to be in order to ask her. " **From what I have observed of the two, it appears that your son really cares about the human. I don't think it is a trick... "**

" **Do you think they will stay?"** he asked

" **... No... I don't …"** she choked the words out, dreading what his response would be.

 **Do you think he will stay if the human is killed** "

She felt her heart skip a beat as the low rumble cut through the air.

" **If you kill him, he won't."** she warned, while despratly trying to hide the fear in her voice.

" **I don't have to. the next raid should be here by tomorrow.** The slight smile that she could hear in his deep voice disturbed her almost as much as the idea that he had came up with.

 **Present**

Toothless and hiccup sat calmly on one of the island's only beaches. The crackling of roasting fish filled the salty air and both hiccup and toothless felt at ease as they looked over the horizon. It was peaceful watching the evening sun loom ever closer to the water, it almost made hiccup forget about his exile. Almost.

 **Do you know you are the best thing that ever happened to me?** Toothless said in response to the nagging guilt he could since from his friend.

"What?"

 **It's the truth.**

"But if you didn't meet me yo-"

 **Would be enslaved to a tyrannical queen and probably dead by now,** he interrupted, meeting his friends eyes with dogged determination. Hiccup leaned back against his friend and gave out a sigh.

" I just feel guilty for keeping you from your family."

 **Don't .**

"But-"

 **There was a reason why I left. I can't remember it but I know it was bad.**

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" hiccup asked, now sitting straight up and body frantic.

 **To many sharp ears. I couldn't risk it. Sorry.**

"Don't be. I know you care for me. You wouldn't still be using that manual tail fin if you didn't."

 **I'm glad you can see that.**

"It's going to be fine toothle-" before he could finish the sentence toothless ears shot up and his body went rigid and the flapping of wings could be heard in the distance. No words were spoken but they each sensed the others groan of disappointment. The soft golden sand sprayed in the air when Caliban landed. Hiccup supposed that he was the elder brother of the two but the only real difference between the two was the shorter spines on caliban and his slightly longer length.

 **Brother...** he said with a the ghost of a snarl as he began to pace around them. Hiccup and Toothless kept their eyes on the ocean, not allowing the angry dragon to see that they were bothered by his intrusion.

 **Yes?**

 **Why did you mark him?**

Hiccup looked up to meet the tired green eyes staring at him, "Toothless? What is he talking about?"

 **You haven't told it?!** Even though they didn't flinch when the dragon roared hiccup still felt the growing rage from his friend.

Toothless sighed, desperately trying not to rip his brothers throat out for calling hiccup an it. He decided the conversation would be better held without company.

 _ **Hiccup... I don't just lick you because I find it funny**_

 _"So you don't find it funny?"_ He thought back.

 _ **oh no, I do**_ _._ __

Hiccup scoffed, shaking his head. _" So what is it for?"_

 **Umm...** caiban crooned, wondering why the two had just gone deathly silent. Neither hiccup nor toothless noticed.

 _ **It marks your sent as mine so other dragons know that you are protected. Traditionally its done between mates but I made an exception.**_

after a short pause hiccup snorted to himself and leaned back against his friend. _"I love you bud."_

 _ **And I you**_

Hiccup looked up to the furious dragon who was still pacing around the dragon resting on his side. looking into his eyes, hiccup tried to make out whether or not he could be trusted. He wanted his friend to have a better relationship with his family than he did but he also didn't want to die. Officially everyone told them they were guests but it was clear to both of them that it was closer to prisoner. The silted green eyes were the same but the dragon behind them was not and he had learned the hard way that a dragon that mad could do some nasty things.

Caliban disappeared behind them while pacing. The uneasy feeling that eminated off of him spiked when he heard the soft padding of his paws on the sand suddenly stopped but he reasured himself that it was nothing. A split second later hiccup felt through their bond a quick spike of pain and then silence. Normally the gateway in the back of his mind let off ambient noise like the sea aginst the coast but now there was nothing. It terrified him . He wasn't going to let caliban know that. Glancing over to his friend confirmed his suspicions, he was limp againt the sand. Letting out a breath, hiccup pushed himself up from the sand and confronted the angry lizard, smirking as he usually did. Even though he was screeming internally he kept repeating the same words to himself to keep himself calm. He was also morbidly curious about what pressure point he had used.

 _" He is Snotlout. He hurt toothless. Your smarter, smaller, and meaner. Use that. You have the knife."_

He looked over his motionless friend to the still snarling dragon. "What now. Huh?" Hiccup asked as smug and as antagonistic as he could. It didn't seem to be working.

 **Now you go with them.** He hissed, throwing his head to the three small sails that had appeared over the horizon.

 _"well fu-. Stop. out think him. The bad guys always spout their pans when they think they've won."_

" And what are you going to tell him?" Hiccup asked, lightly kicking his friend. To his relief toothless twitched at the contact.

 **That he was hit hard enough to forget the entire dragon attack, including the part where you were killed and dragged to the bottom of the ocean.**

Hiccup thought it over and scouled. It was the stupidest plan he had heard sence his fathers idiotic attempt to find the nest but if he could fool him...

Caliban grabbed onto toothless's arms and positioned himelf ontop of him and turned back to hiccup. **Come back and die, human. You live only for the alpha's mercy.** He pounded his wings kicking up enough sand to foce hiccup to cover his eyes. when he removed his arms they both were gone and he was alone for the first time in years. He turned to the longships approaching the coast and muttered the proverb he had learned from a hermit he and toothless had ran into.

 _"We are the few, the bold, the burning... yet we do not burn alone, do we?"_

He smiled, hearing a very ghostly responce come from his unconscious friend.

 _ **No, we do not**_


End file.
